WHITEHORSE — Yukon's ombudsman says the territory's government had a policy and legal duty to notify parents at a school where a child was sexually assaulted, instead it delayed revealing the information for 19 months.
Ombudsman Jason Pedlar and investigator Rick Smith concluded in a report issued Thursday that the delay to tell parents at Hidden Valley Elementary School was unwarranted and unfairly denied them an opportunity to take steps to help their children.
In a written response, Yukon Education Minister Jeanie McLean says the results are"aligned" with the findings of lawyer Amanda Rogers' independent investigation, and she acknowledged the territory mishandled the incident. The ombudsman's report says it was the CBC story 19 months later that prompted the notification from the Education Department.